Reid’s deal with the San Francisco 49ers has expired but two days into the period where free agents can be picked up by teams, he has yet to receive a formal offer as other players have signed new contracts or entered into formal discussions. On playing ability alone Reid should receive at least some attention: in 2013 he was named to the Pro Bowl as a rookie after being drafted in the first-round and has had a solid career since. At 26 he is still in his prime and, after being shuffled about in the 49ers’ defense, his head coach Kyle Shanahan said Reid had been “playing his best football” at the end of last season.

'Your racist side slipped out a little': How the anthem protests split one small town

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“The notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap, not because of my skill set but because I’ve protested systemic oppression, is ludicrous. If you think [it] is, then your mindset is part of the problem too,” Reid wrote on Twitter on Thursday night.

Reid added that he thought it was team owners, who tend to skew conservative, that are keeping him out of a job rather than anyone on the playing side. “[General managers] aren’t the hold up ... It’s ownership. People who know football know who can play. People who know me, know my character,” he added.

Eric Reid (@E_Reid35)

The notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap, not because of my skill set but because I’ve protested systemic oppression, is ludicrous. If you think is, then your mindset is part of the problem too.

Reid started to kneel alongside Kaepernick in 2016 after consulting with former NFL player and military veteran Nate Boyer on how they could protest respectfully. He then knelt during the anthem for the entire season. He planned to stand for the anthem during the 2017 season but knelt again after the violent far-right protests in Charlottesville in August of that year.

Kaepernick has not been signed since leaving the 49ers at the end of the 2016 season, something widely attributed to his protest. Reid said in December that he accepts his career may follow a similar path. “I would say I understand that’s a possibility,” Reid said at the time. “And I’m completely fine with it. The things that I’ve done, I stand by, and I’ve done that for my own personal beliefs. Like I said, I’m fine with whatever outcome happens because of that.”

Reid was part of a group of players who met with NFL leadership last year to discuss the protest movement and how the league could help fight injustice in the United States. However, he left the group after saying he was unhappy Kaepernick wasn’t included in discussions.